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Mesa Boogie Walkabout Mega-thread Pt. Tres

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Yeah +1 to all those comments, and raising the Scout. I've used a guitar stand to good effect. Crank the mid knob, but I never use the semi-para controls at all. Don't need to. Also, in the long run, you may find the Scout 12 to just not be enough speaker for that amp. Hence, I sold mine. A good 2x12 is a miracle.
 
Thanks, friends. I'll get the chance to try it out in a rehearsal again this week, so we'll see how this goes.

I've been playing with the DI. Nice! Unlike with virtually every other amp I've tried, this DI really translates the character of the unit well. In my estimation, it outdoes the REDDI for tubeyness by far. (But, again, perhaps this isn't surprising given the all-purpose utility of that high-end DI.) You want a really tubey DI? Get one of these. About the same price, and you get an amp for free!

:p

How does the DI level work? Is it an attenuator? I can't really hear the signal-to-noise ratio on these crappy studio monitors, so I'm not sure if good gain-staging should be diming the DI, and setting the level by adjusting the master when the speaker is unplugged for recording. I see the function of the DI level for live performances, but, for recording, should it always be dimed?
 
How does this thing hold up volume wise to a little mark?

Before I bought my Walkabout, I tried other small hybrid heads like the MB LM II and the GB Shuttle 3.0 and 6.0. To my ears, none of them were in the same output class as the Walkabout. Even the Shuttle 6.0 (600w @ 4ohms) did not seem to offer as much apparent volume as the Walkabout with 300w @ 4 ohms.

This, of course, is just my opinion, and not the gospel truth on the matter. But, I did play through all of them through their respective 1x12 or 1x15 cab just to keep it an even test.

Tonewise, I personally found the Walkabout to be best for my needs, but tone is really a matter of personal preference, so I won't go on and on about the Walkabouts tone greatness.

Just to be balanced though; while I love the Walkabout, I am completely cool on the Mesa Carbine M3/M6 amps, so it's not just a matter of Mesa fan-dom in this case.

enjoy!
 
How does this thing hold up volume wise to a little mark?

Having used both through the same 410 cab, the LM certainly stuck me as having more clean headroom. But if you grind it up, even just a little bit, the Walkabout can hang.

It's very misleading to think of this as being in the same class as, say, the Shuttle 3.0 300W (which I've also owned).

I'm still unsure on how much pumping this through a larger cab would do to increase output. Look forward to trying it with a GS412, or something like that.

: )
 
My Walkabout sounds huge through my Powerhouse 412. Pretty much what caused me to sell my Big Block 750 as I preferred the tone of the WB and didn't feel that it was lacking in power in comparison to the BB even though the Big Block had twice as many Mosfets inside.
 
The walkabout is loud!! Used it on a gig (metal gig, medium venue) last saturday with a 410 extension cab and I had the gain on 10 o'clock and the master volume on 11 o'clock and it was louder than my ampeg 4-pro at 490watts. The WA just ROCKS!:bassist:
 
The Walkabout Scout 12 I had, while loud for it's size, wasn't any more than one would expect for a really, really good, efficient 12.

Combined with bigger cabs, it can indeed seem to "overdeliver."

No matter what you do, when you push the walkabout's input gain up past noon, it starts getting, very, very tubey. There are other 300 watt-ish heads that might feel louder in terms of *clean* headrrom, if that's your ultimate goal. My F1 might well be better at that.
 
Just ordered a GK Neo 1x12 II, supposed to arrive today, plan on using this for rehearsal and maybe with my SWR NEO 4x10 for some outdoor shows in a few weeks. Anyone play the Walkabout through one of these GK 1x12's. Think Tom Bowlus may have tried this?

My other Amp choice for this outside gig is My LMII or my SWR 350x.

So basically an outdoor - open field, setup under a tent at ground level (no stage).

Thoughts on the GK Cab, and the 4x10 SWR with the GK on top, which Amp? I am planning on using the Walkabout, but wanted to poll the collective wisdom here? Thanks!
 
Just ordered a GK Neo 1x12 II, supposed to arrive today, plan on using this for rehearsal and maybe with my SWR NEO 4x10 for some outdoor shows in a few weeks. Anyone play the Walkabout through one of these GK 1x12's. Think Tom Bowlus may have tried this?

My other Amp choice for this outside gig is My LMII or my SWR 350x.

So basically an outdoor - open field, setup under a tent at ground level (no stage).

Thoughts on the GK Cab, and the 4x10 SWR with the GK on top, which Amp? I am planning on using the Walkabout, but wanted to poll the collective wisdom here? Thanks!

I have not spent much time with an SWR 350, but my guess is that both the Walkabout and LMII will sound great with those cabs. The Walkabout should be plenty loud with those two, but the LMII will likely be able to eek out a bit more overall volume.

Tom.
 
Blues gig last night:
Dark Star Precision, Walkabout, LDS 4x8=killin'!
I had my LG5 too, which I really like, but I was really surprised to actually totally dig playing a 4 string, and especially this one, thru the Walkabout.
Awesome!

IMG_1545.jpg
 
I have not spent much time with an SWR 350, but my guess is that both the Walkabout and LMII will sound great with those cabs. The Walkabout should be plenty loud with those two, but the LMII will likely be able to eek out a bit more overall volume.

Tom.

Thanks again Tom, just got the NEO 1x12 today, practicing with it now, sounds good. Once I get through the next rehearsal I will be able to give my take on it. But right now I am running the Walkabout with it alone, and it sounds good, pretty much as described, I think the full sound of the Walkabout brings a nice balance, I boost the lows a touch and have the tweeter just off zero, the tweeter control is responsive and I hear the differences with slight adjustments. Thanks again!
 
My Walkabout arrived two days ago. I would have posted sooner but have been playing the hell out of it. I will try and get some picks up this evening. Bronco Cream with black corners grill and amp face.

Still haven't told the wife yet. :hiding:
 
Just chiming in that I am still loving the Walkabout. After seeing how well it translates in a recorded mix, it makes me realize that there is definitely something left to be desired by the Scout cabinet itself.

The cab definitely does a lot of stuff well. It sounds thick, and the treble extension with adjustable crossover is really nice for finding a grindy rock tone. But I do miss that girthy, thick, tubeyness that comes across really, really well through the DI.

It just, I think doesn't make any sense to ditch the cab when it's so convenient to haul around. The weight isn't terrible, and, for a small box, it's pretty sweet. Plus, as I said, I find the grind out of this cab great.

Anyway, first rehearsal with it tomorrow night, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it carries over. It's a hip hop thing.
 
My Walkabout arrived two days ago. I would have posted sooner but have been playing the hell out of it. I will try and get some picks up this evening. Bronco Cream with black corners grill and amp face.

Still haven't told the wife yet. :hiding:

Yikes!!! If she notices that beautiful color combination then you are in trouble. My wife couldn't tell the difference between me playing an Orange rig and a Mesa rig, but basses...she notices different ones right away.

Good luck...can't wait to see the pictures!
 
The Walkabout is my favorite "tube di."


Just chiming in that I am still loving the Walkabout. After seeing how well it translates in a recorded mix, it makes me realize that there is definitely something left to be desired by the Scout cabinet itself.

The cab definitely does a lot of stuff well. It sounds thick, and the treble extension with adjustable crossover is really nice for finding a grindy rock tone. But I do miss that girthy, thick, tubeyness that comes across really, really well through the DI.

It just, I think doesn't make any sense to ditch the cab when it's so convenient to haul around. The weight isn't terrible, and, for a small box, it's pretty sweet. Plus, as I said, I find the grind out of this cab great.

Anyway, first rehearsal with it tomorrow night, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it carries over. It's a hip hop thing.
 
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